Transit . Klangwart

Since 18 years now electronic duo Klangwart occupy self-confidently their very own niche between Avantgarde and Pop. Markus Detmer and Timo Reuber, the two 'elder statesmen' of neo-Krautrock, are since regarded as the most authentic heirs to the psychedelic sound gurus of the '70s.Titled 'Transit' their new album after 'Sommer' (2010) is a real masterpiece: Nine tracks of otherworldly beauty – energetic, organic, unpredictable. Thousands of sound snippets are assembled to a kind of vegetative music. Pulsing beats interact with weightless floating sounds. Everything is in a constant flow – sometimes in slow motion, other times at a tearing pace.'Transit' stays at any time highly concentrated and dense. The longest track clocks in at only five minutes – unusual for Klangwart. The production by sound guru Joseph Suchy appears almost three-dimensional whereupon space is an equal element of composition. That's cosmic music for the 21st century.

Klangwart

The electronic duo Klangwart was founded in 1996 by Markus Detmer (15.03.1972) and Timo Reuber (31.10.1970) in Cologne.

Markus and Timo first met in Cologne as students of musicology in a seminar on electronic music in 1992. Spontaneous mutual sympathy due to a shared interest in all kinds of New Music, especially the minimal musics of Steve Reich and Terry Riley. Four years later, the idea of making music together is put into action. Starting point of their musical collaboration are intensive joint listening experiences. They discover the pioneering music of the "Krautrock" era while at the same time taking in the exciting developments and innovations within Cologne's electronic music scene of the 1990s, which centred around Thomas Brinkmann, Burnt Friedman, Mouse On Mars and Pluramon.

During their initial improvisations, Markus and Timo quickly found common musical ground. In the ensuing all night recording-sessions they developed their own musical language as well an idiosyncratic working method. They see themselves as "music workers" and "sound explorers". In a dream, the idea of the "Klangstelle" is born, with Markus and Timo as "sound station attendants", who "refuel" the curious listener with unusual sounds and acoustic environments.

In 1997 the mini-cd "Inkiek" was the first Klangwart-release on their own "Klangstelle" label. This was followed in 1998 by the electronic suites "immer weiter" and "Nirgendland" (issued as a limited tape editions only) and the first lp "Köln-Olpe". The latter was a musical discussion of migration between the poles of the rural and the urban living space. In 1999, the lp "Zwei" ("Two") followed, a study in sound based on only two sounds. It was divided into two parts: loud (dynamic, raw, fierce, aggressive) and quiet (calm, focussed, concentrated, well balanced).

Between 1997 and 2007, Klangwart performed over a hundred concerts all over the world (Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, Beijing) and established themselves as key players in the uncharted area between composed and improvised electronic music.

Since 1999, Klangwart have been experimenting at their concerts with a limited pool of sounds and loops. From this, the two generated the concert piece "Stadtlandfluss" in real time which they have been (re-)creating as a continuous experiment for many years and which they finally recorded for Staubgold in 2008 (staubgold 80 cd/dl/lp). After meeting at Mini Midi Festival in Beijing in 2008, Klangwart are currently performing "Stadtlandfluss" in collaboration with the Swiss artist Andy Guhl (ex-Voice Crack) adding a visual dimension to their extra sensorial musical experience.

In autumn 2009, Klangwart have finished recording a new album, "Sommer", which will be released on Staubgold in June 2010.